Pam
Forum Replies Created
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I find the “position youth as people who do science” to be the practice I would like to model in my teaching. The example given of students “helping scientists” as the opposite of this concept was clear and easy to understand. In the classroom I have seen my students react with great responsibility and seriousness when I have honestly shared information and expectations with them about a project or activity, especially when I add that I’ll be learning with them. We all roll up our sleeves and get busy with the task at hand. It is so rewarding to work with them and discover new information together. I’ve also become an expert at admitting I have made a mistake or I was wrong so that they can feel comfortable doing the same. I’m not saying that is easy to do, it’s not. But it is a lot better than trying to balance up there on that pedestal. No one is perfect! Plus it is impossible to teach or learn if your mind is closed because you know everything. As a person who does science if I can make mistakes, be a learner in our classroom and keep an open mind, why can’t they?
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Phanh, I think many of these projects would be a wonderful addition to garden programs. I recently saw a presentation on Project BudBurst and thought it would be a great way to get students out into the courtyard garden at two of my schools and observe what is happening all year long, even in the winter. My students are always curious about every little detail that they see so this citizen science project would be great because it would encourage them to not only observe all the little details but get them to use scientific inquiry too.
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I love all these citizen science projects but don’t have any students to do them with. I have taught teachers about citizen science for years and shared many of these fabulous resources that we just read about in hopes of inspiring some of them to become involved with citizen science. I have also participated in a lot of professional development about citizen science to increase my own knowledge. And I have participated in several of these citizen science projects myself. I am hoping through this course to come up with a way that I may be able to incorporate citizen science into my volunteer work with youth.
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@laurie Laurie your sketches are totally inspiring to me! I’m actually surprised to see you write they are brand new to you. When I first saw them I thought you must be an artist that also teaches science/environmental ed. And I love that you decided to do it to reflect on your teaching practice. I seriously need to step off the hamster wheel I am on and try something like this. Please continue to share your beautiful art!
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I’d like to see your videos. Could you reply and post the link to them? I’m trying to do something like this in the garden and would be willing to share ideas.
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My situation is similar to yours Phanh! So I am taking notes from your ideas and Laurie’s suggestions. These are all great! I feel like I am good at encouraging my students to observe, hypothesize, and devise ways to test hypotheses in an informal way. Now my goal will be for me to be more purposeful and to ask students to come up with their own "I wonder..." questions.
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Cara, I am also an informal educator and love your idea about asking the students to hypothesize more about what it is they are seeing! I always ask my students questions about what they see when we are out in a garden and then wait for them to come up with some answers and ideas. My experience is that if I tell them a fact about a plant they immediately forget it, but when they figure it out based on what they know and observe they remember it. Plus it is more fun to figure out the answer themselves!
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I am a non-formal educator as a Master Gardener where I use mostly structured inquiry to get students thinking about what they see and experience in the garden or natural world around them. I am also a formal Nutrition Educator but in that job I am required to strictly follow curriculum which only rarely uses confirmation inquiry. I am wondering how I could increase the use of inquiry in my teaching. Perhaps my best option is to encourage the teachers I work with to use more inquiry. One group of teachers I am working with is learning how to use hydroponic towers this summer. I would like to focus on ways I could support them with inquiry.
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I agree! Being able to give and take constructive criticism or input is an important part of the inquiry process. No one lives on an island, so to speak, and both positive and negative feedback is essential to arriving at a strong conclusion.
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The diversity of concept maps is interesting to me too! They are giving me a lot to consider in both style and substance.
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“Inquiry is cross-curricular” resonated with me, especially because your concept map combines science, art, and nature. Inquiry is also a lifelong skill once you learn how to use it.
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That was a thought-provoking section about myths, wasn’t it? I especially appreciated debunking the myth “doing hands-on science is the same as doing inquiry” with the term “cookbook” activity. Why do we have to teach this way? Trying to use more inquiry will be a struggle for me too! I am a pre-K through 5th grade nutrition educator teaching at five different schools. I must use mandatory curriculum that is scripted which does not allow for much flexibility. I am hoping to find a way to be able to inject inquiry into what I can personalize in my teaching.
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Inquiry allows students to ask a question then find the answer themselves, not just be given a fact to memorize as the correct response to the question. The memorized fact is soon forgotten, but the lived experience of solving the problem on their own, or with a group, becomes personal knowledge. I love this kind of teaching!
